Cubit Estimating is compatible with current versions of Microsoft Windows. Whether installing as a standalone application or a network client, consult your IT service provider to ensure a smooth setup. The standard installation is provided as an x64 (64-bit) application; an unsupported x86 (32-bit) version is available on request from help.buildsoft.com.au.
| Operating System | Standalone | Network Client | Server | Terminal / RDS | Cloud (Windows) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Windows 11 Pro | ✅ Supported | ✅ Supported | ❌ No | ❌ No | ⚠️ Limited |
| Windows 11 Home | ✅ Supported | ❌ No | ❌ No | ❌ No | ⚠️ Limited |
| Windows 11 Pro Education | ✅ Supported | ✅ Supported | ❌ No | ❌ No | ⚠️ Limited |
| Windows 10 Home / Pro | ❌ No | ❌ No | ❌ No | ❌ No | ❌ No |
| Windows 8 / 7 | ❌ No | ❌ No | ❌ No | ❌ No | ❌ No |
| macOS (Bootcamp / VM) | ⚠️ Limited | ⚠️ Limited | ❌ No | ❌ No | ❌ No |
| Windows Server 2025 | ❌ No | ❌ No | ✅ Supported | ✅ Supported | ⚠️ Limited |
| Windows Server 2022 | ❌ No | ❌ No | ✅ Supported | ✅ Supported | ⚠️ Limited |
| Windows Server 2019 / 2016 | ❌ No | ❌ No | ✅ Supported | ✅ Supported | ⚠️ Limited |
| Windows Server 2012 | ❌ No | ❌ No | ⚠️ Limited | ⚠️ Limited | ❌ No |
Buildsoft publishes three reference tiers based on workload intensity. Treat these as practical recommendations, not absolute pass/fail minimums.
Cubit Estimating requires a dedicated video card with OpenGL 2.0 support and up-to-date drivers. Note that a higher OpenGL version does not automatically guarantee compatibility — the card must specifically meet the OpenGL 2.0 requirement with functional driver support. Modern dedicated NVIDIA or AMD cards with at least 4 GB VRAM are recommended.
| Graphics Type | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Dedicated NVIDIA Graphics | ✅ Supported | GeForce RTX 2050 or newer recommended, 4 GB+ VRAM |
| Dedicated AMD Graphics | ✅ Supported | Equivalent Radeon cards, 4 GB+ VRAM, current drivers |
| Intel IRIS Integrated | ⚠️ Limited | Light use only. Reduced performance with large or complex projects |
| Snapdragon Adreno | ⚠️ Limited | Significant compatibility issues. Not recommended for production use |
| Legacy integrated (no OpenGL 2.0) | ❌ No | Unsupported. Hardware upgrade required |
- Intel Core processors — 4th generation or newer
- AMD Ryzen and equivalent processors
- Performance degradation and instability
- Limited software compatibility
- Graphics driver issues
- Potential application crashes
Not recommended for production use of Cubit Estimating.
- Minimum installation space: 2 GB of disk space
- Free working space: At least 2.5× the current database size must be available as free disk space
- Minimum headroom: Maintain at least 10% free disk space on the drive containing both the database and installation at all times
- Screen resolution: 1920 × 1080 (Full HD) or higher for both single and multi-screen setups
- 4K single screen: Video card with 4 GB VRAM or more
- 4K multi-screen: Video card with 8 GB VRAM or more
- Scaling: 100% or higher supported, including 125%+ DPI scaling
The following conditions increase load on the CPU, RAM, storage, and graphics — and are the primary reason real-world environments often require a higher hardware tier than the baseline suggests:
Tools for comparing your hardware against Buildsoft's published recommendations:
Running Cubit Estimating on a Terminal Server or Remote Desktop Server places higher demands on shared infrastructure than a standalone workstation. The specifications in this section are the recommended baseline for a stable, multi-user deployment. Requirements will vary based on project complexity, concurrent user count, and other applications sharing the environment.
Choose a high-performance multi-core processor capable of handling demanding calculations and rendering across multiple concurrent Cubit Estimating sessions.
- Intel Xeon — server-grade multi-core processors
- AMD EPYC / Ryzen — or equivalent in virtual infrastructure
- High core count and strong single-thread performance are both important for multi-session workloads
- Scale vCPU allocation with concurrent user count
- Allow headroom for OS and background process overhead
- Avoid over-provisioning vCPUs beyond the physical core count on the host
For processor compatibility on workstations (Intel Core, AMD Ryzen generations, Snapdragon), see the Workstation & Standalone tab.
Enter the number of concurrent Cubit Estimating users to calculate the minimum RAM and GPU VRAM required for Cubit Estimating alone. These figures cover Cubit Estimating only — your server will require additional RAM for the operating system, Windows Server RDS, and any other applications.
Use fast, reliable storage for the OS and Cubit Estimating installation. Storage performance directly affects load times, file speeds, and overall responsiveness across all concurrent sessions.
- Operating system drive: SSD — fast read/write is essential for a responsive server experience
- Cubit Estimating installation: SSD recommended
- Project / job files: Sufficient capacity for current and archived Cubit Estimating project files
- Maintain at least 2.5× the total database size as free disk space for backup operations
- Maintain an additional 10% of total storage as free disk space to accommodate growth
Insufficient free space can cause backup failures, database corruption, and application errors.
Cubit Estimating relies on graphics processing for plan rendering, PDF display, and visualisation. In a terminal server environment the GPU is shared across all concurrent sessions — correct selection and configuration is critical.
- Professional-grade GPU from NVIDIA or AMD
- Dedicated VRAM — 2 GB per concurrent user where possible. A GPU with 10 GB VRAM supports up to 5 concurrent users; 20 GB supports up to 10 users
- OpenGL 2.0 support with up-to-date vendor drivers installed and active on the server
- GPU must be correctly configured for the display/remoting stack in use (RDS, Citrix, VMware Horizon, etc.)
- Windows Server does not include OpenGL support by default — it is provided by the GPU driver
- Remote Desktop Services may disable hardware graphics acceleration unless a supported GPU and correct driver are present
- Compute-only GPU deployments (no WDDM display driver) are not suitable for Cubit Estimating
- Verify OpenGL 2.0 is available and functional after driver installation before deploying to users
| Graphics Type | Suitability | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Professional NVIDIA (Quadro / RTX Ada / A-series) | ✅ Recommended | Dedicated VRAM, OpenGL 2.0+, designed for multi-session server use |
| Professional AMD (Radeon Pro / FirePro) | ✅ Recommended | Dedicated VRAM, OpenGL 2.0+, with current AMD drivers |
| NVIDIA A10 with vGPU / RTX Virtual Workstation | ✅ Suitable | Designed for graphics-rich VDI. Requires vGPU-capable WDDM graphics stack |
| Consumer NVIDIA / AMD (GeForce / Radeon) | ⚠️ Limited | May function on small deployments — not designed or tested for server multi-session use |
| Integrated / Intel IRIS | ❌ Not suitable | Insufficient for multi-user terminal server deployments |
| Compute-only GPU (no WDDM / display driver) | ❌ Not suitable | Graphics APIs including OpenGL are unavailable without a WDDM-based graphics stack |
Common in rack workstations and blade servers.
- Quadro FX 500 / 700 / 1000
- Quadro FX 1400 ⭐
- Quadro FX 1500 / 2000 / 3000
- Quadro FX 3450 ⭐
- Quadro FX 3500 ⭐
- Quadro FX 4500 / 4500 X2 ⭐
⭐ Recommended for PCIe compute nodes, rack workstations, and blade server deployments.
Verify OpenGL mode is enabled — some Tesla configs disable display output by default.
- Tesla C870
- Tesla S870
- Tesla C1060 ⭐
⭐ Recommended. Used in compute nodes and older server infrastructure. Confirm OpenGL 2.0 is enabled via driver before deployment.
OpenGL 2.0-era cards with programmable shader support.
- Radeon 9500 / 9550 / 9600 / 9700 / 9800
- Radeon X300 / X600 / X700
- Radeon X800 / X850
Compatible where a PCIe slot is available and drivers are current.
A stable and high-speed network connection is critical for smooth collaboration and data transfer in a terminal server environment.
- Use a reliable Ethernet connection with adequate bandwidth to handle the expected user load
- Keep the database and Terminal Server on the same local network — avoid remote or WAN links between the database server and the terminal server host
- Network latency and packet loss directly impact the responsiveness of Cubit Estimating sessions for remote users
Use a server-grade operating system designed for terminal server environments to ensure stability, security, and efficient resource utilisation.
| Operating System | Terminal / RDS Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Windows Server 2025 | ✅ Supported | Recommended for new deployments |
| Windows Server 2022 | ✅ Supported | Recommended for new deployments |
| Windows Server 2019 / 2016 | ✅ Supported | |
| Windows Server 2012 | ⚠️ Limited | Limited support only. Plan migration to a current Server version |
Virtual environments are supported for Cubit Estimating version 10 or above. Virtualisation allows better resource management, scalability, and easier maintenance of the terminal server environment.
- Microsoft Hyper-V
- VMware vSphere / ESXi
- Other hypervisors supporting Windows Server guest VMs with GPU passthrough or vGPU
Cubit Estimating version 10 or above is required for virtual environment support.
- The virtual machine must have access to a GPU with OpenGL 2.0 support and up-to-date drivers
- GPU passthrough or vGPU (e.g., NVIDIA GRID / vGPU, AMD MxGPU) must be correctly configured
- Validate that OpenGL 2.0 is functional within the guest OS after driver installation — a higher OpenGL version in the driver does not automatically guarantee compatibility with Cubit Estimating
Azure Virtual Desktop supports GPU acceleration for application rendering and remote frame encoding. Session hosts must use supported GPU-optimised Azure VM sizes with the correct Azure-distributed graphics drivers.
| Azure VM Family | Use Case | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| NVadsA10 v5 | Best overall choice for graphics-enabled Cubit Estimating sessions | ✅ Recommended | NVIDIA A10 based, suited to graphics-rich virtual desktops |
| NVads V710 v5 | AMD-backed option for right-sized sessions | ✅ Recommended | 1/6 GPU to full GPU options, 4–24 GiB frame buffer |
| NVv4 | Legacy only | ⚠️ Retiring Sep 2026 | Avoid for new deployments. Migrate to NVads V710 v5 |
| Use Case | Suggested Starting Point |
|---|---|
| 1–3 heavier users | NVadsA10 v5 fractional GPU profile |
| 3–8 mixed users | NVadsA10 v5 or NVads V710 v5 mid-tier profile |
| 8–15 light to medium users | Multiple GPU-enabled session hosts rather than a single large host |
| Larger environments | Scale out horizontally and validate with pilot users |
Cubit Estimating should be treated as a graphics-accelerated Windows desktop workload — not a compute-only workload — when planning any VDI or virtual desktop deployment. Validate against your intended session density and drawing complexity before go-live.
GPU-enabled delivery can be implemented using GPU passthrough or virtual GPU (vGPU).
Passthrough support
- Citrix Hypervisor
- Nutanix AHV
- VMware vSphere / ESX
- Microsoft Hyper-V (Discrete Device Assignment)
vGPU support
- Citrix Hypervisor
- Nutanix AHV
- VMware vSphere
- NVIDIA GRID / vGPU and AMD MxGPU-backed acceleration
Use vGPU for shared density and easier scaling. Use passthrough for maximum consistency with a small number of users.
VMware Horizon
- GPU passthrough or vGPU via VMware vSphere / ESXi
- NVIDIA GRID and AMD MxGPU supported for virtualised graphics acceleration
- Ensure OpenGL 2.0 is available within the guest VM via the configured driver stack
Azure Virtual Desktop
- GPU acceleration supported for rendering and remote frame encoding
- Only Azure-distributed graphics drivers are supported on session hosts
- NVIDIA GRID drivers required for NVIDIA-backed N-series VMs — CUDA drivers are not sufficient
Use GPU-enabled NV-family session hosts with Azure-distributed graphics drivers for Azure Virtual Desktop deployments.
Cubit Estimating relies on the security practices of its host environment. Ensure the following are in place:
- Appropriate security perimeters and access controls for the terminal server environment
- User access settings and permissions scoped to Cubit Estimating data and application directories
- Active monitoring of user activity and resource utilisation
- Establish a comprehensive backup strategy protecting critical Cubit Estimating project files
- Implement redundancy for critical components — power supplies and network connections
- Maintain at least 2.5× the total database size as free disk space for backups
- Maintain an additional 10% of total storage as free space for growth and changes
Use appropriate tools to monitor system performance, user activity, and resource utilisation so that issues can be identified and resolved before they impact Cubit Estimating users.
- Monitor CPU, RAM, and storage utilisation across all concurrent sessions
- Watch for resource contention under peak user load
- Track concurrent session counts against hardware capacity
- Alert on abnormal session behaviour or resource spikes
- Alert before free disk space falls below the 10% or 2.5× database thresholds
- Verify backup jobs complete successfully after each run
Use this calculator to determine the minimum free disk space required for your Cubit Estimating database backups. Enter your current database size and the calculator will apply Buildsoft's published storage requirements.
Questions about your environment or deployment? Contact the Buildsoft support team at help.buildsoft.com.au
Comments
Awesome article Michael. Very helpful. Thank you.
Hi Michael,
How much space would be required for network client storage? We have the Enterprise version of cubit and have been using it since early 2022 and are currently using 672GB. We just increased it from 500GB to 800GB last month and it just keeps on growing. Thanks.
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